Recipes from a British-Chinese kitchen, mainly pinched from my parents and 婆婆.

Sunday, 6 April 2014

Pan-Fried Rainbow Trout with Black Bean and Garlic Sauce (蒜蓉豉汁煎虹鱒魚)

Rainbow trout is a relatively cheap and abundant fish. It is an oily fish, and a source of omega-3 oil. We haven't had it for a long time - the bones can make it a bit tricky for young children, especially if you are my husband and can't remove meat from a fish without mushing all of the bones up with it. I used to roast it in a hot oven with a horseradish creme fraiche and sliced potatoes, a recipe which comes from Jamie Oliver's "Return of the Naked Chef". It suits strong flavours, and worked well tonight with ginger and black bean and garlic sauce.

I remember as a child, not being phased by meat and fish that looked like meat and fish, and I would like for my family not to be sensitised to such things. Growing up in a catering family, I was used to following my dad around during the school holidays, going to the wholesalers at Prescott Road in Liverpool at 5am to buy meat and vegetables for the restaurant. When I started my career as a summer student, I took a basic food hygiene course run by Essex council. The lady asked if anyone had been in an abattoir, and I put my hand up. Her immediate reaction was "oh really? And how was it? I hear the abattoirs in China are very different to how they are here!". I don't think she was expecting me to mention that the abattoir I'd visited had been in Birkenhead. Mind you, that wasn't quite as toe-curling as the ante-natal class in Surrey, when I was pregnant with the eldest. The physiotherapist had been discussing birthing positions, and noted that women in the 3rd world tended to give birth in the squatting position. She then turned to me in front of all of the expectant mums and asked "so, do you know how to squat??!!", much to the amusement of my husband. When we had all had our babies and become friends, we had a good laugh about it.

Ingredients

1 rainbow trout, scaled and gutted

3 slices of raw ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks

50-75ml water

1 heaped tsp black bean and garlic sauce

(Optional) 1/4 tsp cornflour mixed in a little water for thickening

Sunflower oil for frying

Handful of fresh coriander, chopped

Serves 1 (or more as part of a meal)

Instructions

Wash the trout inside and out, and pat dry on kitchen towels

Add two tbsp sunflower oil to a hot, heavy-based frying pan and heat until the oil is smoking

Add the trout to the pan and leave it for 3-4 minutes whilst it sizzles on a high heat and crisps the skin. Reduce the heat slightly and leave for a further 1-2 minutes

Turn the heat back up to high, then flip the trout to the other side and repeat

After 10 minutes' frying, check that the fish is cooked right through by separating some of the flesh with a sharp knife and making sure the flesh is opaque to the bone

Remove from the heat and place on a warmed plate

Drain off any excess oil until there is approximately 1 tbsp left in the pan. Heat the oil until it is moving in the pan, and add the ginger. Stir-fry rapidly for 30 seconds - make sure it doesn't burn

Add 50-75ml water and 1 heaped tsp black bean sauce to the pan. stir to combine and boil for 30 seconds

(Optional) thicken the sauce with a little cornflour mixed in water, if required

Pour the sauce over the trout

Garnish with fresh coriander and serve immediately (we had it as part of a meal with rice, fried "purse" eggs (煎荷包蛋) and stir-fried lettuce)